PRESERVATION SOCIETY OF CHARLESTON LAUNCHES 7 to SAVE PROGRAM
May 12, 2011

“Seven to Save” is an annual outreach program of the Preservation Society of Charleston designed to focus the work of the organization in a proactive and constructive way, delivering intellectual and financial resources to raise awareness and support for key preservation projects in Charleston and the region.

Seven sites, representative of seven broader issues, will be announced each year during National Historic Preservation Month in May as “Seven to Save.” Associated with each site will be specific programmatic activity, which can include:

protective ordinances

historic resource surveys

National Register nominations

preservation and stabilization plans

adaptive use plans

historic markers

community workshops and training

hands-on clean-up/fix-up efforts

historical research

fundraising and special events

public awareness campaigns

“The scope and aim of the Society should be very far reaching, ramifying into all parts of the city and all branches of the work of preservation.”
- Minutes, Society for the Preservation of Old Dwellings, May 5, 1920

Seven to Save Fund

Donation Amount
$

2011 Seven to Save Sites:

MAGNOLIA CEMETERY RECEIVING TOMB

Built circa 1850 and attributed to Edward C. Jones, the Magnolia Cemetery Receiving Tomb is in need of critical structural repairs and restoration. Historic mausoleums are an important part of Charleston’s architectural heritage and many are suffering from demolition by neglect.

17 Henrietta Street, the home of civil rights leader Septima Clark, was demolished for a parking lot and is an example of a lost historic resource. Sites in the region associated with the mid-20th century Civil Rights Era are endangered because of a lack of documentation and awareness of their significance.

Quarters “A” was built in 1905 as the Commandant’s House; it has stood vacant since the closure of the Navy Base in 1996 and is in need of major stabilization work. Several structures in the Charleston Navy Yard Officers’ Quarters Historic District are suffering from demolition by neglect.

1-Adaptive use plan for the structure
2-Assist with locating resources for stabilization/preservation

CHARLESTON SINGLE COTTAGES AT 193-199 JACKSON STREET

The cottages at 193-199 Jackson Street were built circa 1900 as four identical structures that are now vacant and in need of rehabilitation. An important vernacular building type in Charleston, the “single cottage” form is being lost throughout the city be demolition and inappropriate alteration.

This modest lane in Elliottborough was paved with Belgian blocks circa 1915, but later covered with asphalt in the 1970’s. Historic paving materials from the 19th and early 20th centuries represent a major civic investment that are not protected by local ordinance.

1-Survey of extant historic paving materials in the Old City District
2-Removal of asphalt/restoration of Rose Lane
3-Ordinance to protect historic paving materials

NEW TABERNACLE FOURTH BAPTIST CHURCH

Francis D. Lee’s circa 1860 Gothic Revival church at 22 Elizabeth Street, originally known as St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, requires extensive preservation work. Many downtown historic churches are suffering from deferred maintenance as congregations dwindle in size and financial resources for repairs become scarce.

The vacant houses at 68 & 74 Fishburne Street and 306 & 308 St. Philip Street were built circa 1920 in the Wilson’s Farm subdivision, an eligible historic district. Historic structures along the 1960’s-era Septima Clark Parkway are suffering from demolition by neglect because of their proximity to a busy six-lane highway.